The flight, bound for London Heathrow was forced to circle for around half an hour on Tuesday evening before landing safely at Belfast International Airport.

Emergency services, including the ambulance and fire crews, were tasked at both airports as a precaution.

Passenger Justin Hames told Belfast Live: "It's been interesting. We took off at around 7.35pm and on take off we heard a loud bang and we just flew around Belfast for about half an hour before we landed.

The pilot declared an emergency following a suspected technical issue and circled before landing at Belfast International.

Fire crews were on standby at Belfast International as a precaution. As well as the ambulance, fire and police, the RNLI in Donaghadee were also called as a precaution before the plane landed safely.

A spokeswoman for British Airways said the flight was diverted as a precautionary measure following a "suspected technical issue".

She said: "The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority. The flight landed normally after diverting shortly after take off as a precaution following a technical issue. Our cabin crew are looking after customers and they will be offered hotel accommodation and rebooked onto flights tomorrow."

Passengers were taken via coaches to Belfast City Airport and are expected to be rebooked onto flights on Wednesday.